Chasing Windmills
by c00kiefic
Summary: Words can mean anything, depending on their context.A Jackie and Hyde character study set post season 8. Complete!
1. Letting go of the Ratio

Chasing Windmills. 

Summary: Words can mean anything, depending on their context. A Jackie and Hyde character study set post Season 8.

Disclaimer: I don't own That 70's Show or its characters, nor do I own any songs that might be referenced. Title comes from the Toad the Wet Sprocket song Windmills. Chapter title is from The Ani Difranco song Adam and Eve.

Part one in a four part study of my favorite couple. This won't affect updates of Into the Woods.

Rated T for Language and strong Adult Content.

* * *

**Chapter one: Letting go of the ratio. **

It's just sex, she tells herself, and it doesn't mean anything. Except, deep down, she knows it does mean something. They're not back together, he's made that perfectly clear, and it certainly doesn't change the fact that she has nothing but distain for him now, but somehow she knows that it's more than just sex. It's more than just lips caressing, more than just hands exploring parts of the body that are usually covered. It's more than just sweat and heat and everything else that's typically associated with the act of making love. She doesn't know what it is though, so she resolves herself to stop thinking about it and simply tells herself that she is wrong, and it is just sex.

She's partially afraid that he knows what she's thinking; he was always so good at reading her thoughts, of understanding what she was saying beneath her shallow demeanor. But then again, sometimes he wasn't so good at translating her speech. He certainly hadn't understood "I need to know we'll get married." Really meant "Just ask me to stay!" So perhaps she has nothing to worry about. Right, she thinks. Nothing to worry about at all.

After he rolls off her, she gets up to put on her clothes. She has no intention of staying, no intention having the awkward conversation that is sure to follow. The one where he reminds her that this was a one time thing (as though she didn't know that, jackass) and she replies with a yes, I agree, and then he says it again, because somewhere along the line he decided that she was as dumb as Michael, and needed to have things explained to her in small words and now she really wants to kick him in the shins, just on principle.

"Leaving so soon?" He almost sounds disappointed, but she understands the subtext, she understands that what he's really saying is "Thank god, you're not trying to stay and talk." Well, she has nothing to say to him anyway, except maybe a good fuck you. Talking is for people who have something in common, and the only thing they have in common is that they're both desperate.

"Yeah." She replies, leaving it at that.

She knows that he's watching her; she can feel his eyes on her back as she ties her shoes.

"Jackie?"

Here they go, she thinks.

"Steven." She replies as she picks up her purse.

He doesn't reply at first, which makes Jackie want to roll her eyes. It's like he's trying to find the right words to let her down easy. He's never been careful about his words before, why should tonight be any different?

"Are… are you going to be okay?"

She repeats the question again in her head. Is she going to be okay? Okay with what? Okay with not being with him? Okay with not speaking about this night with anyone? Okay with Ronald Reagan becoming president? How does she answer that?

"I don't know what you mean." She admits as she opens her make up mirror to check her face.

"Are you going to be okay with this?"

Ah… just as she suspected. There are a thousand things she wants to say to him, and none of them will make any difference. They're just words to him; they mean anything depending on the context. What he wants isn't reassurance that she won't come begging reconciliation, but for her to walk out the door and never look back. It's what he's wanted all along. God knows he spat it in her face constantly. Little does he know that he's about to get his wish.

"Steven, tonight was just about two people who were looking for a release, nothing else. I'm fine." And she is fine. It's great not having to lie.

"Good, because this," He gestures to the both of them, "Was just a one time deal."

"Don't flatter yourself." She can't help herself from saying, "I'm not interested in anything from you."

"Same here."

He really doesn't know when to shut up. They all say she talks too much, but if they knew the truth about him, they'd be in for a shock. Sure, he doesn't typically say much, but when he does, it's always wrong and he doesn't know when to stop. It just spills out of his mouth like bad… bad… damn, she can't think of a good analogy. But it doesn't matter, because she's learned to tune him out when he gets like this. It's the only reason she hasn't killed him yet.

Really, she should be sainted for it. Saint Jackie, patron saint of dealing with dumb ass boyfriends. If only she was Catholic. She can't stop the giggle from coming out.

"What's so funny?" He asks.

"I was just thinking about something I saw on TV." She lies. She has everything she needs now, and can finally leave.

"So, you're going now?" He actually sounds disappointed this time, and Jackie can't find anything beneath the surface of his words. She stares at him in dismay as her answer.

"It's just… I was thinking we could go get some breakfast."

Breakfast? It's not even two am and he's already thinking about… oh. She gets it now. He wants her to stay. Well, this just messes everything up. He says one thing but he means another, he does one thing and it means something else, it's just too freaking complicated. If he wants to be with her, he should just say so instead of resorting to these childish games. On the other hand, pancakes sound pretty good.

"You could have said something before I put my shoes on." She says lightly, still standing by his door. She watches him as he removes himself from the bed, the sheet wrapped around his shoulders and walks over to her. Even though she's dressed, she feels naked as his eyes peer into hers.

"Come to bed."

He's doing this all wrong! He's supposed to let her go, supposed to go back to pretending that there's nothing between them, burning her at every opportunity. He isn't playing by the rules. This is rebellion of the worst kind, because it isn't just records of Eric's stash he's stealing, but her heart, and she promised herself that she wouldn't let him do that to her again.

His arms wrap around her, and both of them are enveloped in the sheet. His chin is resting on the top of her head, and she's face to face with his chest. She can smell her perfume on his skin, and it makes her dizzy.

"If you want to go, you can." He tells her. "But it's alright if you don't."

She doesn't say anything, because truth is she can't make up her mind. He ends up making up her mind for her, stepping away from their embrace just long enough to remove her clothes with little protest from her part. She's too tired to argue anyway she tells herself.

"I've got a shirt you can wear." He tells her and she nods. She doesn't want to sleep naked. He walks over to his dresser and pulls out yet another Led Zeppelin shirt and hands it to her like it's no big deal, but it's all Jackie can do to stop from crying, because not only is it a Led Zeppelin shirt, but it's his other favorite one. She wonders if he understands the significance. Of course he does, she reminds herself. These shirts mean the world to him.

Damn it, it was just supposed to be about sex. They had an agreement. Was nothing sacred anymore?

"You gonna stand there all night or are you going to put it on?" He says it teasingly, but she can read his impatience.

She slips on the shirt, gulping the entire time. It's worn and soft and it smells like him and damn it she isn't supposed to fall in love with him again. He takes her hand and leads her to the bed and climbs in before her. He keeps his hand on hers though, and lightly pulls her down. She gets in, knowing deep in her gut that it's a bad idea.

She can hear him chuckle behind her, as though he's celebrating some grand victory.

"What?" She doesn't bother to try to hide the curtness from her voice.

"Just thinking about something I saw on TV." She knows it's a lie, but doesn't say anything. They're two for two now, even.

Except that they're not even, not even close. So far, he's leading by ten and all she's got is a measly two points. If this was a game of H.O.R.S.E she'd be on the letter R. But, it isn't a game, which makes it far more dangerous. He might like to live dangerously, but she's long been accustomed to a certain life style, one where her heart doesn't get trampled on.

Great, now she's making puns. Now she knows she's lost it. Only sick people make puns. Don't ask her where she learned that, but it's true.

She can hear him snore softly behind her. How can he actually sleep when she's going through a mental crisis that he caused? Selfish, that's what he is.

"If I told you to stop that, do you think you'd actually go to sleep?" So much for him actually being asleep.

"I'm not doing anything." She argues, and it's true, she's been perfectly still.

"You're thinking." He tells her, "And you think too loud."

"I'm sorry; I'll try to quiet my thoughts down so you can get your beauty rest." She replies sarcastically.

His response is to kiss her on the back of the head and say thank you. What the hell is the matter with him?

Jackie feels like she was going around in circles, spiraling downwards into the abyss that was them. It had been so long since she had been her own woman, independent from any man and she wasn't sure she wanted to give that up. A relationship with Steven would only result in heart break, and then she'd had to pick up the pieces yet again, rebuild herself and for what? The next time he got it in his head that he wanted to be with her? Damn circles. Steven loved circles, he lived for them. But, circles meant something entirely different to Jackie, yet here she was, in his bed, wearing his shirt, in his arms, and she has to admit that deep down, beneath all the fear and resentment, it felt good.

She pushes herself out of his arms and stands up. She can't stay here, can't let the cycle continue.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do this."

He raises his eyebrow, conveying nothing. She loves and hates that about him. Hates. She reminds herself, she hates him.

"Sleep?" He asks, but both of them knew what she means.

"No," Jackie answers, "I can't stay the night and I don't think I can go have breakfast with you."

He's sitting up now, reaching over to turn on the radio. "Jackie, what did you think tonight was about?"

Two bodies looking for release. Nothing more. But somehow, Jackie doesn't want to say the words out loud, because then that made it real. When she doesn't answer, he reaches over and grabs her hand.

"You really think I'd have a one night stand with you?" He asks gently, but the words cut deep.

"Steven, if you didn't want this you could have just said so before we had sex, and do I need to remind you that this was your idea?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it." He snaps. "You're the one who…" But he doesn't finish his sentence, choosing instead to place his mouth on hers, burning her insides up with a kiss that said everything that words couldn't.

Who needed words anyway? They could mean anything, depending on context. Kissing however was an entirely different beast. How did that song go again? _If you want to know if he loves you so, it's in his kiss. _

"But you said…"

"I say a lot of things, Jackie, but you of all people should know when I'm lying."

Lies. It had been their lies that had gotten them into this mess in the first place. She can't resist laughing at the irony.

"That must have been one funny TV show." He states, still holding her in his arms.

"It was." She nods. "Funnier than…" But she didn't get to finish because he was kissing her again. And again, and then yet again. Finally she was able to pull away.

"Steven, what are we doing here?"

"What do you think we're doing?" He counters, stepping away from her.

"I don't know!" She exclaims, throwing her hands in the air. "I thought we agreed this was just a one time thing."

"Yeah, well, I changed my mind." He states simply, as though he's informing her that grass is green.

She can't help but stare at him in shock as she processes his words in her head. "You changed your mind? When?"

"While you were getting dressed."

Time seems to stand still for Jackie as she remembers that not even an hour ago he had tried to remind her that this was a one time thing, and now he was saying he changed his mind and wanted more? She hates him, she reminds herself. He had done nothing but break her heart time and time again, he was a no good, two timing, whore…shit she was going to cry if she let that train of thought continue.

"So, in the span of you saying 'this was a one time thing' and the time it took me to put on my makeup, you changed your mind?" She enunciates every syllable of the last four words.

"Yep." He replies, grinning sardonically.

It was time to put him into his place. "I hate you." She loathed him, despised him, wanted him to be cut up into tiny pieces and then fed to the birds.

"No you don't." He replies matter-of-factly.

She can't believe it; he actually has the nerve to tell her how she feels. How in the world would he possibly know how she felt? He didn't know anything. On the radio, Sam Cooke sang.

"_Don't know much about history, don't know much biology, don't know much about a science book, don't know much about the French I took, but I do know that I love you, and I know that if you love me too, what a wonderful world this would be." _

Of all the songs they could play, they have to play that one? She reaches over and turns off the radio.

"Jackie, do you remember that night at the bonfire?"

"I remember you trying to sabotage me getting together with Fez." It still annoys her, even to this day.

"Not that." He replies, "The other thing."

What other thing? Aside from him telling her that she would pay for calling the cops, they hadn't spoken for the rest of the night.

* * *

_She had lost count of how many beers he had. It wasn't as bad as the time he threw the party at his father's house, but it was enough for him to start slurring his words and bumping into people as he shouted how much disco sucked. Government oppression, blah blah blah, she had stopped listening to him after he set Fez up with the blonde whore. Why did he want to ruin a good thing for her? She sat on the log and threw a people into the woods, cursing the name of Steven Hyde. _

"_Hey Jackieeee." He stumbled over to her. "Jack.. Jackieee.Jackiiiie." He laughed at himself. "Your name sounds funny." _

_She rolled her eyes. "What do you want?" _

_He straightened himself up and looked her in the eyes. "I need to tell you something." _

_Great, she thought, here comes the burn. "Okay." _

"_I still love you." And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving Jackie in a daze._

* * *

"You were drunk!" She shouts at him, and then she looks down at the shirt she's still wearing. He had been wearing it the night of the bonfire.

"Yeah, but I still meant it." He laughs softly, "Did it ever occur to you that there was a reason I kept trying to sabotage you and Fez getting together? Why I broke the two of you up?"

"Wait that was your fault?" She had wanted to break up with Fez anyway, but it was the principle of the thing. He couldn't keep…

"It's never going to change between us is it?" She asks voice low and head towards the ground. "We're going to keep playing the same games with each other, circling around the other until one of us finally breaks." By one of us, she means her, because she was always the one who broke. Always. It's just not fair. She wants to stomp her feet and yell at the injustice of it all.

"Or we can just accept that we should be together." He replies.

She's too tired to think, too tired to deal with this right now. "Let's just go to bed and we'll talk about it in the morning." She tells him as they get into his bed. There's silence between them when he finally speaks.

"You don't hate me." He attempts to reassure her.

"I know." She replies, not wanting to get into another conversation about their feelings.

"I meant what I said." He whispers into her hair. She knows exactly what he means, and that's what scares her. She still knows him, just like he still knows her. He's in her blood, like a damn parasite that she can't get rid of.

"I know." She says, leaving it at that. He knows what she means. The tear falls from her eye against her will, and she just prays he doesn't notice that she's crying. All this time she had been trying so hard to resist his charms, to keep herself from falling in love with him again that she didn't realize that she already was. How did this happen? She asks herself. Was it when they started reminiscing on the couch? Was it when he poured her that second glass of wine? Was it when she had kissed him to see what it would taste like? Was it when they moved to the bedroom, frantically removing their clothing while desperately trying to stay attached? Somehow she had let her guard down. But none of that matters because she can't stay awake any longer. Sleep is beckoning her and regardless of how scared she is of the man sleeping behind her or the conversation they'll have over breakfast, where she says this was great but it can't happen again and he smirks and says whatever, like he doesn't really believe her. She can't blame him; she's never given him any reason to before.

It's just breakfast she tells herself as she falls asleep. It won't mean anything.

* * *

Pancakes might not mean anything, but reviews do, so please tell me what you think of this. 


	2. Reason

Sorry about the lateness… I thought I lost this!

This chapter is kind of experimental, as a lot of the dialogue is taken from song lyrics. I wanted to see if I could, and well, let me know what you think.

* * *

**Chapter two: Reason.**

"How are you feeling?" Hyde asks her the next morning. He's holding a glass of water in one hand and a bottle of ibuprofen in the other.

"Ugh." She says, which means 'I hate myself and want to die.' She takes the water and the pills and mumbles thanks as she attempts to open the bottle.

"Give that here." He orders, taking the bottle from her. "You were always bad at opening these." He says as he opens the bottle. "How many?"

Jackie puts up three fingers.

"You sure?" He asks skeptically.

"Yes." She answers, groggy but no less demanding. She holds her hand out expectantly and after a minute, he drops three of the ibuprofen into it. She pops the little orange pills into her mouth and then proceeds to drink the water in one long gulp.

"I'll give you a few minutes to get dressed." He tells her, taking the medicine and the water away. "I'll be in the kitchen making coffee." He leaves, closing the door behind him.

It's not just the soreness that comes from frantic lovemaking, nor is it hangover from the cheap wine that makes Jackie move slower than usual, but rather the sea sick feeling that can only be described as guilt. Contrary to what other's might say, it doesn't make her feel good to cause others pain.

Scratch that. It doesn't make her feel good to cause Hyde pain, even if he does deserve it.

She knows she needs to plan what she's going to say to him, because if she's not careful, she can lose herself to him. Sometimes she thinks she could just fade into him, become one with his soul, connected forever to the being that is him. But if there is one thing she has learned, it's that all her dreams of being with him came tumbling down like an avalanche, and nothing he said or did could ever repair the damage.

Sometimes, you just have to learn to walk away. With that mantra repeating itself nicely in her head like an old radio tune she's heard before in her head, Jackie opens the bedroom door and steps out into his living room.

She watches him for a few moments as he pours himself a cup of coffee. His back is to her and he doesn't appear to notice she's there. For a minute, she wants nothing more than to just continue watching him, to burn the image into her mind so that at least one good thing can come from this mess, but she knows better.

She walks over to the kitchen and tells him softly that she's ready so that he doesn't spill his coffee. When he turns around, he's smiling genuinely at her.

'No.' She thinks, 'Don't smile like that.'

"Where's my purse?" She asks instead, wanting to wrap her arms around herself protectively.

"I hung it up on the door." He answers, pointing to the closet by the front door.

Jackie smiles at him in t hanks and walks over to retriever it. "Take anything?" She asks the question before she can stop herself. She wants to apologize for the accusation, but he surprises her by laughing.

"I thought we agreed that you would pretend I didn't." He replies, raising his eyebrow expectantly.

"Oh." She says, mostly to herself as he puts down his cup and begins to walk towards her. It's getting increasingly more difficult to ignore the fire in her belly, but she tells herself that it's from hunger and not from any residual feelings she may or may not have for him.

"There's a diner around the corner, they've got pretty good food." He tells her, opening the door to his apartment, gesturing for her to leave first.

* * *

The diner is like stepping back into the fifties with its bright with chrome and vinyl booths and pictures of famous celebrities such as Elvis, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. The waiters are dressed in tight jeans and tee shirts, their hair combed back just like James Dean. The waitresses are dressed in poodle skirts with their hair in high pony tails. Rave On by Buddy Holly plays on the jukebox. They seat themselves and it takes only a minute for their waitress to come by with their menus. 

"Hi, I'm Sandi!" The waitress tells them cheerfully. "Can I get the two of you something to drink while you look at the menu?"

"I'd like the full stack with a side of bacon and a large orange juice." Jackie tells her, handing the menu back to a startled Sandi.

"Oh… okay." The waitress says after coming down from her shock. "A girl who knows what she wants, I can respect that." The two girls smile at each other and Sandi looks at Hyde expectantly.

"Uh, the Denver omelet." He says, "And coffee."

Sandi takes his menu from him and nods, "Would you like to add any bacon or sausage to that?"

Hyde shakes his head, "Uh, sure, bacon."

Sandi smiles at Hyde, but his attention is focused completely on Jackie who is currently looking in her purse for change. It's not until she starts to get up that he realizes that Sandi has walked away.

"Any requests?" Jackie asks.

"Zeppelin." He replies, knowing full well that even if they do have Led Zeppelin on the jukebox, she won't play it. She gives him a shrug and walks away. He half feels as though he should apologize to the rest of the restaurant for Jackie's horrible taste in music, but instead he watches her as she browses through the jukebox, looking for the perfect song. He imagines going up to her and putting his hands around her waist and pulling her close. His fantasy is broken however by her relatively quick return.

"So, what'd you choose?" He needs to know so that he can be ready for when Barry Manilow starts playing.

"An old favorite." Jackie says, "It'll be awhile before it comes on though, I think there were about ten songs before mine."

He wants to reach over and brush the hair out of her face, but he knows it's far too early for that. Instead, he leans back and stretches his arm across the back of the seat. They sit in uncomfortable silence, one dreading the conversation ahead, the other trying to come up with the right words to say.

"Thank god." Jackie mutters when Sandi drops their food off, "I'm starving." She's already pouring the syrup over her pancakes by the time Hyde has time to even unwrap the silverware from his paper napkin.

"We should talk." He says it without meaning to.

"I'm eating." Jackie glares at him as she takes another bite of her pancakes. "Mmmm.."

"Look, I know you have some reservations about us getting back together…" He's interrupted by her snorting, "But I really think I deserve another chance."

It's a risky line, he knows, because she has every reason to rebuff him. He's not even fully sure if he deserves another chance. He blew it the moment… he doesn't want to think about it. They've agreed not to discuss the past anyway.

"You do?"

He's surprised when that's all she says. He's expecting her to go off on him, to tell him exactly why he doesn't even deserve to share the same air as her.

He shrugs. "Well, uh, yeah."

"Give me one good reason." She demands.

Why does he deserve another chance? Because he's always been there for her? No, she can rebuff that. Because he loves her? Crap, that's an even worse reason than the first.

"Because…" He says slowly, "Because I missed you." Yeah, he thinks, he's got it. "And I think you've missed me too."

Jackie rolls her eyes at this. "Missing someone isn't a good reason to jump back into a relationship, Steven."

"It is if you care about them." He argues.

She turns back to him and sighs. "You want to know what will work? Nothing, that's what Steven, nothing is going work. We tried us, and we failed."

* * *

The look on his face makes Jackie want to take the words back, but to do so would be consequential. She has to remember the way she felt when their relationship ended. She never wants to feel so sad and lost again. It doesn't do her any favors to keep the feeling inside, and she'd do anything to get it out of her mind. She should have just gone straight home from work last night, she should have walked out the minute he walked back into her life, but it's a little too late to do the right thing now. 

"You're wrong."

She looks up at him, shocked that he's actually fighting her on this. "About what?"

"About how we should just give up because of what happened when we were kids. We were kids Jackie, we were young and stupid, but I'm not like that anymore and neither are you."

Jackie has to sigh at this, because she knows that he's got a point. "No, I don't suppose we are." She concedes, "But a leopard doesn't change his spots, Steven, and there's no use trying to, because that's just what you are."

"You know, we made a promise to not talk about the past, but I think we should." Hyde says, keeping his voice level.

Jackie drops her fork onto her plate. "Oh yes, let's talk about how trust is a joke to you, and how it's no use in saying forever because nothing ever lasts. You taught me that, Steven."

"How did it feel?" Hyde asks, ignoring her burn.

Why? She asks the universe silently. Why would he ask her that, why now? Why is he finally showing sings of actually caring about what happened to her? She sits in reflective silence for a moment, choosing her confessions.

"You want to know how I felt?" She asks and he gives a nod. "I felt like utter shit, like I had my heart ripped out, I felt like you took the blue out of the sky." Jackie states. "That's how it felt."

* * *

Her answer is profoundly deep for her, and Hyde can't help but be moved by her choice of words. He also can't help but feel guilty, because it wasn't as though his treatment of her was accidental. He had gone out of his way to hurt her, to make her feel as bad as he did. 

"Why'd you leave?" He finally asks, unable to keep the question from spewing out of his mouth anymore. He still wants to blame this on her; make what happened to them her fault. If she had just stayed, they would have had a chance and contrary to what she says, it's not enough that they almost made it.

"Why'd you stay?" Jackie instantly counters.

"I had the store." He answers, "I stayed because of the store."

"No," She responds after a moment, "With that girl… the punk girl, what was her name?"

"Chrissy."

Jackie nods. "Right, her, why didn't you leave with her when you had the chance?"

Hyde has to think about it, because the truth is he hasn't thought about it since it happened. He knows he can't say 'because of you.' Because it's nothing more than a cheap romantic gesture, and Jackie's had enough of those in her life already.

"'Cause Forman convinced me not to." It was after all what happened.

The answer seems to satisfy her as she gives a short nod before she resumes eating her pancakes.

"What are you thinking?" He asks without really meaning to.

"That I'd rather be anywhere else but here." Jackie replies honestly and without hesitation.

He feels like he's been sucker punched. His first instinct it to shrug it off and say whatever, but somewhere in the space of last night he decided to finally fight for the girl sitting across from him.

"You can't mean that." He says, as though saying it will make her statement any less true.

"Oh, but I do." Jackie replies, sounding almost giddy about it. "Look, Steven, even if I wanted to try again, it wouldn't change the fact that it would be a bad idea." She pauses before clarifying her answer, "We're a bad idea."

"That's bullshit and you know it." Hyde argues.

"Is it?" Jackie asks flippantly, "Look at us; we're two entirely different people."

"No," He shakes his head at this, "You and I are exactly the same."

His only regret is that it took him so long to figure that out.

* * *

Jackie can't help but stare at him. "You know if you had said that…" She trails off not able to say the rest. 

"_When we were together…" _

"_Why did it take you this long to see?" _

"_We might have had a chance." _

Their plates are now empty, her orange juice gone. She's got nothing to distract herself with anymore except the voice of Rick Springfield, and his song about unrequited love. She's often felt like she's Jessie's girl, though who Jessie is changes with every passing moment. It used to be Michael, and Hyde was Rick, but then they switched and Michael was Rick and Steven was Jessie, and how Fez fit in there she wasn't sure. She's saved though by Sandi appearing at their table.

"Can I get the two of you anything else?"

Jackie decides to answer before Hyde can, because knowing him he'll ask for more coffee or pie or something just to keep her there.

"No." She says, leaving no room for argument from him, "Just the check."

Sandi smiles again as she takes their plates away. "I'll be right back." She tells them before walking away. Jackie wonders if Sandi and the rest of the people in the diner have noticed the tension between her and Steven, or if they simply look like any other ordinary couple eating breakfast together.

She's about to say that she's willing to pay for her half, when he speaks again.

"I know you still love me."

She should lie, say that she doesn't, or that it's not the kind of love that he wants, or even deserves, but instead she sighs and says, "I can't do this, Steven."

"Why not?" He asks quietly.

She's been ready for this since the day they broke up. "Because you weren't sorry."

"But I'm sorry now." He says, reaching out for her hand, "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"All I ever wanted from you was to hear that you loved me, to know you wanted to be with me as much as I wanted to be with you, but you couldn't give me that, you wouldn't give me that… you don't love me Steven, sometimes I wonder if you ever did."

"That's not true." He replies. "Jackie, the way I feel about you is beyond words, and you know words can mean anything."

Jackie smiles sadly at him and tries to ignore the warmth of his hand. "Depending on their context, I know." She admits before taking her hand away.

* * *

He can see Sandi at the register, printing out their bill, and he knows he's fighting a loosing battle, but he still has one more weapon at his disposal, one more fight left in him. 

"Look, I don't know how we got off track, maybe I didn't give enough, maybe you gave too much, I don't know, but you're the one who came over last night, which tells me that you want this as much as I do, so don't treat me like I am something that happened to you…Jackie, I would have done anything for you. I'd walk the world for you."

"Now who's spouting bullshit?" Jackie asked.

"Jackie…"

But Jackie's already shaking her head, "Why can't you just accept that last night was just that, last night?"

On the jukebox, Sam Cooke sings A Change is Gonna Come. Jackie smiles to herself and closes her eyes. She sings softly, "_It's too hard living, but I'm afraid to die, because I don't know what's up there, beyond the sky._"

Hyde raises his eyebrow, "How do you know this song?"

"Our old housekeeper loved Sam Cooke. She'd play his records while she cleaned." Jackie answers with a shrug.

"What happened to her?" Hyde asks.

"Mom fired her, I don't know why." Jackie answers with a shrug.

* * *

After he pays and they leave, Hyde grabs Jackie's arm and spins her around to him, pulling her close. 

"What are you doing?" She asks flustered.

"I know it's going to take time to get you back." He says into her ear, "But I've got nothing but patience and time, Jackie, and I'll do whatever it takes."

He then lets her go and grins wickedly at her. "See you." He says, placing a kiss on the side of her mouth, leaving her speechless.

"Oh… crap."

* * *

Please watch your step as you leave the ride, and remember to leave your reviews at the door. 


	3. The Darkest Hour

Chasing Windmills, Chapter 3.

Chapter Title: The Darkest Hour.

A/N: Listen to Windmills by Toad the Wet Sprocket if you haven't already, and remember to click the button that says review. I accept everything from "Worst story ever." To "Eh, I've read worse." To "This was nice." to "You're the greatest writer ever and I want to have your babies." The problem with the last one is that I have no babies to give you, but I appreciate the offer. Seriously though, please review.

* * *

The first thing Jackie does when she gets home from breakfast with Hyde is turn on her shower. She strips off her clothes and then steps into the wet heat, letting the steam and the water embrace her like a blanket. Without opening her eyes, she reaches for her jasmine scented shampoo and lathers it into her long black locks. Quietly, she begins to sing.

"I'm gonna wash that man right outta my hair."

When she rinses, she imagines that the soap and the water are carrying her thoughts, memories and feelings for him with them, down her body and into the drain, never to be heard from again.

If only it were that easy.

"I'm gonna wave that man right out of my arms, and send him on his way." She sings, wishing that she could send him on his way. She knows full well that when he meant every word of his little speech at breakfast, and that if he says he's going to get her back, he probably will, whether she wants to or not.

She knows that he's in love with her. She isn't able to pin point the moment that it happened, maybe it was when she told him she forgave him for marrying someone else, maybe it was when they walked down the aisle together as maid of honor and best man at their best friend's wedding. Maybe it was last night, when she admitted that she missed him, and he told her he felt the same way. Or maybe it wasn't any of those times, and it was something that just happened gradually, and inevitable consequence from being them.

None of that matters however, because Jackie too made a promise, that she'd never allow herself to feel anything more than resigned friendship for him. She was right when she said that they had tried and failed, and there was no use trying again. There was no way she was going to put herself through that kind of heartache again.

When she steps out of the shower, she feels cleansed physically, but the emotional fog and dirt are still there, as though scrubbing until her skin turned red wasn't enough.

It's never been enough when Steven's concerned.

Putting on her bathrobe, she walks into her bedroom and closes the door, collapsing on the bed in tears. Regret overtakes her body, to the point where her heart feels like it's going to burst. It's right now that she realizes that it's too late, she's already fallen for him again.

* * *

The first thing Hyde does when he gets home is call his dealer, because he going to need the help thinking up a plan if he really wants Jackie back. While he waits, he cleans up the mess they made the night before of empty wine glasses and now stale pizza which he throws away after a minute of careful deliberation. In the back of his mind, he hopes that he finds something of Jackie's so that he has an excuse to go over to her place, but Jackie never leaves anything behind, and he knows it's too much to think she ever would.

When his dealer arrives, he pays for the stash and thanks him, only to get a grunt and a slight nod in return. Closing the door behind him, Hyde puts the brown paper bag to his nose and smells the contents inside and smiles. If this doesn't clear his thoughts, then nothing will.

Rolling the joint, he wishes the guys were there, just so that he could have someone to bounce ideas off with, even if their ideas are more known for being spectacularly bad. Forman would tell him that she's the devil and it's all just a plan to get him into her evil clutches, Kelso would laugh and tell him that what he should do is have sex with some hot blonde he knows from the playboy club and Fez would just tell him that he's whipped and ask if he had any candy.

On the other hand, maybe it's better if he's alone.

He wonders what Jackie is doing, if she's in her own apartment, or out shopping, if she's thinking about him at all. He knows that at the very least, he managed to get under her skin and at the moment, he's counting that as a victory. She is his Napoleon and this is his Waterloo.

* * *

"I've missed hanging out with you." She says, nudging him with her shoulder. "Remember when we used to just hang out for no reason, just the two of us?"

Hyde nodded. "Yeah, that was good." He agrees. "Remember when we'd go out to the reservoir and talk about stuff?"

"I like talking about stuff with you." Jackie flirts. "You always give really good advice."

Hyde smiles at Jackie. "What can I say, I'm wise beyond all my years."

"I bet it's because you're an orphan." Jackie tells him knowingly. "Life experience and all that."

Hyde nods thoughtfully. "What about you?" He asks pointing at her. "You know some stuff too."

"I do?" Jackie asks. "That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

It was that moment he made the mistake of looking into her eyes, and the moment after where he made the mistake of taking her chin and tilting her head towards his, and the moment after that when he leans down and kisses her softly on the lips.

He lets the moment overtake him, let's himself laugh when she tells him that he tastes good, pulling her closer to him so that she's practically on his lap. He wants to blame the wine but he knows that the wine is merely a catalyst for the explosion that's happening inside his stomach. Hyde doesn't believe in soul mates or true love or anything like that, but he believes in Jackie, and that the feelings he has for her are stronger than anything else in his miserable life, and that they're never going to go away.

* * *

When Jackie wakes up from her nap she has to stop herself from reaching for the phone and calling him, even though she really wants to. Instead, she goes into her kitchen and takes the ice cream she keeps especially for situations like this and starts to eat it right out of the carton.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Jackie asks herself. "You knew drinking that wine would lower your inhibitions!" "Stupid girl."

It's herself that she blames now, because she knows that if it weren't for her inviting herself into his apartment, that none of this would have ever happened. Actually, if anyone is to be blamed it's the guy from her office who gave her the bottle of wine in the first place. She's going to have to say a few words to him on Monday.

Jackie finishes off the fudge ripple and after throwing the empty carton she goes to put on her clothes, because moping around her empty apartment is pathetic, and if there is one thing Jackie Burkhart is not it's pathetic.

So she puts on her best dress, takes extra time with her makeup and curls her hair just right. Looking in the mirror, she's pleased with the results. She's going to go to the dance club down the street and dance him out of her system if it's the last thing she does.

* * *

Hyde isn't sure why he feels the need to go out, he should be perfectly content with just hanging out in his apartment by himself, but the need for fresh air and something stronger than the beer in his refrigerator is urging him on. His intent is to go to the liquor store on the corner and get some Jack Daniels and then go back to his apartment, but halfway there he spots Jackie walking into a club. It's times like this that makes him glad that they unknowingly got apartments three blocks from each other. After a few minutes, he follows her into the crowded building. After scanning around, he finds her on the floor, dancing by herself. He goes to the bar and orders the Jack and Coke he originally wanted and settles down on the stool, content with watching her. Taking a drink, he doesn't notice the brunette who sits next to him or the attractive red head who asks him to dance. The only girl who has his attention is the raven haired, loud mouthed, mismatched eyed beauty dancing her heart out in front of him.

He should have married her when he had the chance.

With the Jack urging him on, he purposely walks up to her and taps her shoulder so that she turns around. The song is slower now, and without saying a word, he pulls her into his embrace and they start to sway together to the beat.

"Are you following me?" She asks suspiciously.

Hyde grins and shakes his head. "Coincidence, I swear."

After a moment, she shrugs and gives a nod. "Okay, I believe you."

* * *

She knows he wants to kiss her, and she should step back before he does something they'll both regret, but her body has other ideas. Instead she manages to get closer to him, to the point where there's no space between their bodies.

"I think we need to talk." She whispers into his ear. It's time that they both laid all their cards on the table and say what needs to be said.

"Yeah." She hears him agree. "Your place?"

"I have a better idea." She says, taking his hand and leading him out of the club.

* * *

An hour later, Hyde finds himself at the top of Mount Hump; looking out at the city he calls his home. Jackie is standing beside him, silent and reserved.

"So you want to talk?" He asks, finally breaking the ice.

"Don't you think we should?" She asks, taking a step back and walking towards her car. She reaches inside and pulls out her sweater and puts it on. "I forgot how chilly it gets up here."

"That and it's September." Hyde says.

"Good point." Jackie agrees. "Hence the sweater." She says pointing to the blue and white stripped garment.

"So, you still planning on going to Chicago to visit Michael and Brooke?" He asks.

Jackie smiles, "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I haven't seen them in so long, and I bought this skirt for Betsy a while back but I haven't been able to give it to her yet, and I guess I could just mail it but these things are better given in person you know, and well, Michael told me that he's thinking about asking Brooke to marry him again, and he wants me to be there to make sure that he doesn't mess it up again, but really I'm going so I can convince her to say yes this time, because I really think those two deserve to be happy you know?"

"Jackie." Hyde finally interrupts her chattering. "Shut up."

She closes her mouth and glares at him angrily. "I will have you know…" He interrupts her again with a kiss. It's just a quick kiss meant to shut her up, and it works.

For a whole ten seconds.

"There you go again." Jackie says shaking her head. "Thinking that making out is the answer to all our problems. You know why we never worked out? Because you never wanted to talk about anything important!"

"That's hardly fair." Hyde responds. "You're the one who was always going on about marriage and money and what our kids names should be."

"Yeah, well excuse me for wanting to know that you cared about me."

"How was that even an issue?" Hyde asks throwing his hands up in the air. "Why would I be with you if I didn't care about you?"

"How the hell should I know?" Jackie yells at him. "You never told me!"

"Jackie, I was with you because I loved you!" He yells back. "But you just couldn't let us be happy, you always wanted more."

"Yeah, well excuse me for being a girl." Jackie snaps.

"And excuse me for thinking you could be patient."

"I was going to be patient!" Jackie screams. "But then the stripper walked in and we both know how that worked out."

Hyde then turns away from her and takes a deep breath. He turns back to her and says, "I was wondering when she was going to come up."

"Oh right, I forgot I'm not supposed to talk about your precious Samantha, tell me, how is she?"

"I wouldn't know." Hyde tells her. "I haven't talked to her since she left with her husband."

Jackie laughs bitterly. "Poor wittle Steven, his wife chose a sleazy loser over him."

"Yeah, you'd know how that feels wouldn't you?" He expects her to slap him, to snap another clever remark at him, or maybe to even cry, but instead she smiles.

"Yeah, I do." She closes her eyes. "And that's why I don't think I can be with you."

"For something that happened nearly five years ago?" Hyde asks softly. "That's a little unfair don't you think?"

Jackie's eyes snap open at his words. "You really want to talk about what's fair? You getting rid of Sam and telling me you loved me would have been fair, you believing me when I told you nothing happened with Michael in Chicago would have been fair, or… god, even you just asking me to stay would have been fair. You don't get to talk about what's fair Steven Hyde, not after what you did to me."

* * *

Jackie feels as though she's at her boiling point, she's going out of her mind.

"Why can't I break free from you?" She asks.

Hyde shrugs his shoulders. "Is that what you really want?"

"It'd be a lot easier than this." She tells him. "You know I actually broke up with my last boyfriend because he said he didn't like Led Zeppelin? I don't like Led Zeppelin!"

"Speaking of Zeppelin." Hyde says, how about we turn on some music?"

Thinking its' a good idea, Jackie reaches inside her car and turns on the stereo. Out of the speakers Sam Cooke sings his lament to Cupid.

"Dance." Hyde says, holding out his hand to her. After a minute, he grabs her hand anyway and pulls her to him. Knowing she has no choice, she takes her other arm and wraps it around his torso, placing her hand on his back. While the dance they had shared in the club could only be described as sexy, it's this dance that brings her back to those long nights when she'd put her head on his shoulder and they'd just sway together in his room, listening to the music. When the song ends, she pulls away.

"You can't expect a couple kisses and a dance to make everything right again."

"I don't." He says. "I just… you want to know what I really want?"

"What?" Jackie wonders.

"I want us to be us again, only this time, without the bullshit."

"I don't know if that's possible." She says. "I still don't trust you."

It's then that she reaches walks back to the car. "Come on, it's getting late."

* * *

They drive home in silence, both thinking about the things they should have said, and how in the long run, none of it really matters because they both know how this is going to end. When she stops the car he realizes that they're in a dark garage. It reminds him of what he thought while he watched Jackie struggle to find her clothes before he told her to stay.

"You know what Jackie?" Hyde says before he gets out of her car, "You always want things to be easy, but love isn't easy. It's an ugly and it hurts, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared too, but I'm just asking for a chance. That's it."

"Want to come inside?" She blurts out.

"More than anything." He said, and then he followed her into the dark.

* * *

Only one more chapter to go. Why'd Jackie ask Hyde back into her apartment? Will they resolve their issues? All this and more, next time… 


	4. It's all worth waiting for

Well, here it is the end…. I'm sad to see this one over. I know this was a favorite amongst a lot of you, and I'm deeply grateful for your continued support, not only with this story, but my others as well. You're the best group of readers a girl could ask for.

* * *

**Anywhere the wind blows…**

"_Jackie." he says, completely surprised that she's standing at his door, "What are you doing here?" _

_Jackie shrugs and holds up the bottle of wine, "I got this from my office, and I don't want to drink alone, and since you're the only person I know who didn't leave town for the Holidays, I thought I'd stop by."_

_Hyde leans against the door way and studies Jackie for a moment, "What the hell." he finally says, "Come in." _

* * *

"I don't want you here." Jackie finally says.

They've been sitting on her couch for the last hour in complete and awkward silence, both trying to get their thoughts together so that they can make their arguments. Jackie feels like they're in a courtroom, both battling for her heart.

He wants to take it.

Her only goal is to see that it never gets hurt again. What's so wrong about that?

It was a mistake asking him to come up here. It was a mistake to go over to his place, a mistake to bring wine, to talk to him. To flirt. He's right, she was the one who instigated the other night, and it's her that will suffer the consequences.

"You always do this Jackie; you always want things to be on your own terms."

Her terms, she laughs out loud. He's one to talk about wanting things on their own terms.

When she says this to him, he glares at her, "I don't know why I bothered."

Finally, she thinks, they're getting somewhere. "Neither do I!" she exclaims, throwing her hands up in the air, "I don't even know why you're here!"

"Well that makes two of us!" Hyde yells back. This time, he gets up from the couch and walks over to her kitchen.

"Do you want a beer?" he asks.

Jackie's confused, why isn't he leaving? He's supposed to leave. That's the way this usually works out. They fight, he leaves, the end. No where in this story is he supposed to get a beer and ask if she wants one too. But it's okay, she decides, he can drink as much as he wants and pass out on her couch for all she cares. She's not touching anything that will reduce her defenses though.

When Hyde comes back from the kitchen, he's looking at his can of beer intently, "This is Fez's beer."

Great, Jackie thinks, here we go.

"Yep," Jackie says. "You're very observant."

"So I guess that means he was here."

Jackie shakes her head and laughs bitterly, "Don't tell me you're jealous."

He shakes his head and shrugs, "Nope, just curious."

Jackie studies him for a minute, proud of herself for being able to still read him, "We hang out every once in a while, he leaves his beer here so he doesn't have to remember to buy any, and for the record, we did not sleep with each other."

"I didn't say you did." Hyde states, "I just… so what do you do, watch old movies and do each other's hair?"

"In between making out, yes."

Hyde spits out his beer. "What?" he asks, coughing.

Jackie laughs and points at a now sticky Hyde. "Man you're easy."

"You're mean." Hyde says, wiping his face off. "Great I have beer on my shirt; I'm going to smell like a lush."

"How does that differ from how you usually smell?" Jackie inquires thoughtfully.

"Har-Har." Hyde retorts with no laughter in his voice, "Guess I'm just going to have to take this off."

No, no, no, there will be no shirtless…

Okay, too late.

Fine, Jackie decides, she can handle a shirtless Steven Hyde. If he wants to play dirty, then they'll play dirty.

"I think I have one of Ted's old shirts in my closet." Jackie says with a saccharine niceness aimed to kill.

It works.

"I'm not going to wear one of your pansy ex boyfriend's shirts," Hyde spats. "I thought he left you to go to Peru or some shit."

"It was Argentina, and he went because he's a doctor and they need help."

"How noble of him," Hyde remarks, leaning over to her, close enough for her heart to start racing, "I'd never leave you behind."

That's it, Jackie tells herself. It's one thing to bring up her ex boyfriend, it's one thing to parade around shirtless and all smooth and muscular, but to talk as though their past didn't happen? As though he hadn't done exactly what he just said he wouldn't do?

Well screw that, Jackie decides.

"And yet," She says slowly, "That's exactly what you did. You, left, me."

"After you left me!" Hyde argues for the sake of arguing, "Fine, alright, I messed up, but that was a long time ago."

"And yet you're still doing it!" Jackie tells him.

"What am I doing?" Hyde asks softly.

"You're…" Jackie has no words, has no way of explaining what she's feeling.

"You're making me feel." she finally says.

* * *

He's making her feel… something about her words is making him feel even hotter than before. He has to smile to himself, he knew that eventually his plan would work, and if he's lucky, maybe he'll get her back tonight.

"What am I making you feel?" he asks. He removes a strand of hair from her face but keeps it in between his fingers, playing with it gently as he strokes her chin with one of his other fingers.

She gives a little shrug. "I donno."

"Like you could love me?" He asks gently.

She gives a sad nod. "Yeah."

He leans in close to her so he can whisper into her ear. "I already know I'm in love with you."

* * *

"_So, did you get an invitation?" Jackie asks as Hyde attempts to find his corkscrew. _

"_It's on the coffee table." Hyde replies from the kitchen. "Under the magazines." _

_Jackie picks up the car magazines and lifts up the yellow envelope that holds the infamous wedding invitation. _

"_So are you going?" Jackie asks. _

_Hyde comes out of the kitchen with the corkscrew in hand. "He wants me to be his best man."_

"_Oh." Jackie says softly. "That's got to be awkward."_

_Hyde laughs and hands Jackie the corkscrew. "Not really." He replies. "They're perfect for each other, and well, I've moved on from that a long time ago." _

_Jackie doesn't know what to say so she nods and begins to open the wine. "Yes, I suppose I believe them more than I believed you two."_

"_Yeah." Hyde agrees. "Crazy how things work out isn't it?" _

"_Yeah," Jackie agrees as she pops the cork out of the bottle. "Crazy." _

He's saying all the right things, making all the right moves, and here she is, falling for it.

"Oh." Jackie replies in a low tone.

What she needs, she decides, is time. Time to think things over, time to gather up her defenses. She doesn't need the pressure that he's putting on her. Not now, not like this. Not when she's spent the last five years getting over him.

He doesn't have the right to do this to her.

"Ignoring me isn't going to make me go away." he tells her, still playing with that loose strand of hair.

Jackie can't think of an argument for his comment, so instead, she sits and continues to wait out him and the night. One of them has to give in eventually and she's going to be damned if it's her.

* * *

One of them has to give in soon and he's going to be damned if it's him. It's not like he's asking for much, just a sign really, a token. How hard is it to convince a girl that you're crazy about them anyway?

"This really shouldn't be this hard," he says.

Jackie doesn't agree nor disagree with him, she simply shrugs.

"_So what about you," Hyde asks, "are you going?" _

"_If I can find the time off from work, yes." Jackie answers as she pours the wine into two small glasses. She should have realized that Hyde wouldn't have had regular wine glasses. _

"_Well, no one will blame you if you don't go." Hyde tells her sympathetically. _

"_Oh I'm fine," Jackie replies flippantly. "I ended that chapter a long time ago."_

"_Yeah," Hyde says, "Me too." _

* * *

"Why did you even ask me up here anyway?" Hyde asks.

That, right there is the ten million dollar question. At the time she had thought it was a good idea for them to actually talk, to get things out on the open, now though, she understands that it was a mistake to think they could ever talk.

"You once told me that words are meaningless, and that it's actions that are important," Jackie says, staring at the wall, "and here you are, trying to convince me that you still love me, when your actions have done nothing but prove otherwise."

"Is that so?" Hyde asks slowly.

Finally, Jackie turns to look Hyde in the face.

"You told me that you weren't ready to be married yet, and what did you do, you married another woman."

"Ah," Hyde says, "so it really is all about that."

Confused, Jackie cocks her head to the side and asks, "What else could it be about?"

* * *

"_You know this is good wine." _

"_Let me taste." She hasn't even had a sip yet. _

"_No." He pulls away from her and laughs. "Drink your own." _

"_But I want yours." Jackie pouts. She straddles his lap and presses her lips against his. "Just one taste." _

_There's a pregnant pause between them. _

"_Just one." He agrees, and the wine is forgotten for the rest of the night. _

* * *

"If this is really all about something that happened five years ago," Hyde tells her, "then all of this is meaningless."

"You're calling last night meaningless?" She doesn't know how to react to that.

"Yeah." Hyde says, "you're still so hell bent on the past that nothing I say or do will ever be good enough for you, god Jackie, I've watched you grow up, I watched you get your heart broken by Kelso, by me, by Fez and by that Ted guy, and you always pick yourself up. I watched you go to college, get a job and become the woman you are today. You know what I was thinking when you came over last night, I was thinking I get to spend a night hanging out with the greatest woman I know, but none of that matters to you."

"No," Jackie says softly, "it does matter."

"Then why are you still blaming me for it?" Hyde yells, standing up from the couch.

Jackie's quick to follow him. "Because you never apologized."

"Jackie, I'd tell you a million times I'm sorry if it thought it would do any good."

* * *

"_What are we doing?" Hyde asks between heated kisses. _

"_Nothing," Jackie replies, "we're doing nothing." _

"_Oh," Hyde says after a moment, "can we do nothing in the bedroom?" _

"_I was on my way." Jackie tells him, pulling him up from the couch. _

"So, I'm just supposed to forgive you for what you did to me." Jackie ponders.

"At least accept the fact that I'm not that guy anymore." Hyde requests.

"Really?" Jackie wonders, "what kind of guy are you, Steven?"

Hyde has his answer ready. "I'm the guy who went to every one of your plays in college when no one else, including the Formans did, I'm the guy who cheered you on at your graduation, who took you out on your birthday for the last five years, who has been broken up with by at least a half a dozen girls because they're all jealous of you, and they're right to be. If we're both right and words are meaningless, then all I have are my actions, and I think they stand by themselves."

Jackie wants to reply, wants to say something scathing to hurt him, to make him as desperate as she is not to play this game anymore, but she can feel each one of the bricks in the wall she's carefully constructed for herself come crumbling down, piece by piece.

"I'm the guy who has waited five years to be with you." Hyde continues, "The guy who wouldn't go to New York to open up a new record store because you weren't there."

All this time she's been so focused on that one moment in the past that she's completely forgotten everything that happened since then. He's more than proved himself to her and if she's half as smart as she thinks she is, then the only logical conclusion is to accept defeat.

"Okay," she resigns, "But we're taking this slow, and I meant really slow, we're not going to make the same mistakes we did last time, so that means dates, flowers, you're going to be romantic, Steven Hyde."

He doesn't respond, just grins and leans towards her.

"Steven, I said slowly, that means no kissing..." She's stopped though by his finger on her lips.

"Jackie, shut your pie hole."

Whatever, Jackie thinks as they kiss; it's probably too late to be complaining about moving too fast anyway.

* * *

I was deliberately vague about who the wedding invitations belonged to, although I had a clear idea in my head, and I'm giving kudos to anyone who can guess. I personally think they would have made a lovely couple. Okay, maybe not lovely, but entertaining at least.

Thank you for reading and reviewing. Rock on!


End file.
